.... by Trolleyla

Comfort and Style at 30,000 feet

trolleyla — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:26:40 +0000

I just got back (sob) from Paris and France. From Los Angeles, a non-stop flight to Charles de Gaulle may not be the longest flight there is, but 10 hours to arrive and an 11 hours return trip isn’t exactly a walk in the park. I decided quite awhile ago to try to combine the best of both worlds while flying; a stylish, put together look that manages to be comfortable and still look like you haven’t slept in it when you queue up in customs. In fact, this year I went a bit far and wore Michael Kors sky-high platform sandals (which looked great, but I wasn’t so happy with my choice when I ended up running to the international terminal to catch my flight!!)

So I have to say I agree with J.J. Martin, the author of the Wall Street Journal article “An Argument for Flying in High Style.” In fact, I may even wear a faux fur overcoat she suggests on my next flight (considering the extremely high rainfall for May in Paris!)

Look at how they used to treat air travel, in the day….

Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Laraine Day, mid 1950s

Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn off the plane

For me at least, any travel is worth it, and I want to look good going there and when I’m walking in the rain.

Sparkling Paris Street Rain

The plane ride is worth it

Drawing Pencil Skirts in Digital

trolleyla — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 23:39:29 +0000

My continuing fascination with technology, fashion and art makes me really really want to design (and wear!) my own digital printed pencil skirt. The Wall Street Journal recently wrote an article on Spring’s current wardrobe staple, title “Pencil In Some Fun!” You can read it here.

From the article: “The pencil skirt has the perfect shape to highlight a print because it’s a really clean surface,” said designer Joseph Altuzarra of the high-waisted, nipped-in style to which he returns season after season. The skirt below by Zero Maria Cornejo was based on an iPhone photo of the metal fence at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco!

Here are just a few others… search the web and you will definitely find one for you.

And below is a mock-up of a digital printed pencil skirt made from one of my altered photographs. I can wear my own sexy version of the Eiffel Tower!

Imagined Eiffel Tower Pencil Skirt

And just to round it all out, a palette of “happy color” coffee cups in my favorite brights. Just in case you’d rather drink your bold color than wear it!

Cursed with love and money… Marion Davies

trolleyla — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 04:35:25 +0000

This weekend I drove up the beautiful California coast to San Simeon, in central Cali. It is always a pleasure to escape the city of Los Angeles and all of it’s hubbub. The Golden State is gorgeous, and although the weather forcast predicted rain, it was a rare, sunny weekend (lucky me!) It is easy to see why William Randolph Hearst purchased the land above San Simeon Bay to build his castle for himself and Marion… a more spectacular setting would be difficult to find. The castle is as awe inspiring as it must have been in it’s prime party days of the roaring ’20s.

Hearst's Castle for Marion

I have always been fascinated by Marion Davies. According to Wikipedia, she was a much better actress/comedienne than history has claimed (due in a large part to a sad portrayal in Orson Welles movie “Citizen Kane”), but Hearst’s love, devotion and immense wealth did nothing at all to help Marion’s career. She was doomed to throwing lavish parites and drunken revelries, and never achieved the success as an actress that she so dearly wanted. In later life, she worked tirelessly for charities.

Still partially intact is Marion’s beach house in Santa Monica; I pass it often and think of her. It is now a private beach club. She is the ultimate story of someone who had it all, and at the same time, had nothing. Hearst’s wife would not divorce him so they never married, and her talent went unacknowledged. Though I rarely focus on this era for my art prints, the trip up north and the sad story of Marion inspired me to do a image of her. It is the Golden Age of Hollywood in the Golden State!

Charlie Chaplin Entertaining

Cary Grant (the one before George Cloony!)

Marion's house in Santa Monica, as it was then

You can purchase the piece here, or click on the picture:

Marion Davies by Trolleyla

Missing Muscle Cars and 70s films

trolleyla — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:23:01 +0000

Last night I visited my favorite theater in Hollywood, The Egyptian. It always showcases great retro movies, and it’s wonderful to see them on the big screen. Many times there are actors or directors from the movie for a Q and A after the film. I couldn’t miss “Vanishing Point”, a great car chase / road trip movie made in 1971. Paul Koslo, the actor who portrayed the (very mean) young cop in the movie, was there to reminisce about the groovy shoot of 10 weeks. The movie stars Barry Newman, a Vietnam war hero and ex-cop who develops a Forrest Gump-type following in his quest to beat the police through the western desert in his turbo white Charger. The film had some incredible shots and amazing car chases, and some really humorous dialogue that only belonged in the 70′s. At one point, Barry Newman flashbacks to a moment (when he was still a cop) with his girlfriend on the California coast, who rolls a joint and says “Wouldn’t it be funny if I turned you on and you turned me in?” Then she proceeds into the ocean to surf and promptly drowns.

What I love about screenings at the Egyptian is the warm and rowdy audience; they are always film and retro lovers who vocally express their pleasure with the films. There were quite a few laughs! I guess the real star of the show was the white Charger. The era of American muscle cars was a unique time in history. Those cars are worth tens of thousands of dollars now….if you can find them!!!

Barry Newman with the Charger

Death Valley is no match for the Charger

Leaving Denver

The original movie poster

Fashionable Fall 2013

trolleyla — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 23:18:52 +0000

I’ve been seeing some very interesting new fashion for Fall 2013, among those are the voluminous and luxurious styles from Rochas. The looks are both retro and modern at the same time, recalling the shapes of the 1950s yet looking very new. Delicious! And who could not love the mosaic bejewelled treasures from Dolce and Gabbana? Early Christian byzantine art brought to life to be seen anew. I LOVE the colors and the complexity and I find them inspiring and very creative. There is so much inspiration in the fashion world.

Rochas Fall 2013

Doclce and Gabbana fall 2013

Vintage Typewriters – Back to the Future

trolleyla — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 03:12:27 +0000

Apparently, vintage typewriters are a collectors dream and commanding high prices! It seems we all treasure the design and style of retro. The pink typewriter photo instantly made me read this article in The Wall Street Journal (see it here).

Of course I instantly wanted one, so I set off this weekend to all the great thrifts and second hand stores I know to find my own… and that proved utterly fruitless. I guess finding such a gem is going to cost you… not that I would even use it! I just want to have it. And as the Journal says, Cormac McCarthy didn’t write “No Country for Old Men” on a computer! Maybe we have too much tecnology?

(Newly) Crazy about Robert Plant

trolleyla — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 02:15:51 +0000

I’ve always been a Led Zeppelin fan, they were something special, unique and never heard before … and never to be heard again. So thanks to YouTube, I’ve been watching all these old Zeppelin concerts, and I’ve grown to appreciate their unique genius in a new and more mature way. Of course, my retro love of the early 1970′s keeps me entralled, but especially the most absolutely gorgeous, sexy, blond God that was Young Robert Plant.

I still love Robert Plant, but I never really appreciated him fully until now. Of course, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham match him in genius, yet I think it’s his bare chest and curly locks that do it. Not to mention they are the greatest Rock and Roll band ever! Long live the Queen; the Brits surely have brought us much musical joy (influenced by solid American roots!

Oh My

Robert

The one and only

Watch Led Zeppelin in their prime!

Check out my etsy store here for a couple of 1970s inspired prints.

1970s Love

70s Hair Love

75 years of Polaroid

trolleyla — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 05:57:56 +0000

We have all come to the realization that Steve Jobs was a National Treasure and has changed our world. But I didn’t know that Steve himself considered Edwin Land, the creator of the Poloraid camera, as his hero. Of course, with my fondness for retro and nostalgia of times and styles of the past, I lament the demise of the Polaroid camera. Yes, it did not turn out the best of pictures, but they were often magically delicious, and the fake digital polaroid filters just aren’t, well… REAL! I also have to sadly admit I threw out THREE instant polaroid cameras, a Sun 600, a Spectra, and a more recent “Funkit” thinking they were useless since the film has been discontinued.

But there is the site “The Impossible Project” (http://shop.the-impossible-project.com) which has recreated these films. I’m estactic about their grand efforts to keep the polaroid alive, yet the film is quite expensive for 8 eight images, so it is probably best i don’t have my cameras, as I would undoubtedly buy the film.

Check out the official polaroid site, as well as this great article in The Wall Street Journal yesterday: “It’s Polaroid’s World and We Just Live in It.”

And lastly below is one of my scanned favorite Polaroid’s, available as a re-print for your retro-loving pleasure!

Polaroid Pool

Click on the pic or…
Purchase it here!

Bits and Pieces

trolleyla — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 05:17:20 +0000

I particularly like the Patchwork dresses I’ve been seeing.. they remind me of collage and layering in art forms. It is something tricky to achieve in both fashion and art. What clashes… and what is harmonious together?

I think the use of black and white makes it much easier to pattern clash. It is something I should try as I usually use a lot of color.

Preen Patchwork Dress

raoul patchwork dress

Below is one of my newer more “earthy” patchwork pieces. For now it is only available in my Etsy store (click on the image to visit my store!) as I have too many industrious activities going on and keeping up with them is exhausting (my life functions as a patchwork as well!) I think it is most beautiful as a canvas.
But please take your time to peruse my website, where I have many images not on etsy:
http://shop/trolleyla.com

JuliE Christie

And as Autumn is near, of course I think of Paris, and this seems to represent a piece of a patchwork memory of Paris… It is time to go again. YAY!

Paris

A Furious Love – Liz and Dick

trolleyla — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 22:25:23 +0000

I read an excerpt of this book, “A Furious Love” by Sam Kashner, Nancy Schoenberger in Vanity Fair. I was so fascinated by the “Marriage of the Century” that I had to go and get the book! It was a fascinating read, and perhaps it romanticized their love, but Richard Burton was quite the romantic and wrote all kinds of sweet love notes and letters to Elizabeth. What woman doesn’t like that? They HATED to be called “Liz and Dick”…. they were Elizabeth and Richard. By many, many personal accounts, they were BOTH more beautiful in person than on film. Elizabeth’s loveliness lasted well into her prime and people were shock by her beauty in person. Richard, on the otherhand, was quite the hunk… every woman was attracted to him and his beautiful voice. I just love to read about their time and the era they lived in, and reflect about how it has passed, never to return. I miss old Hollywood glamour!

Tragic and sad story all around, though.

It inspired me to make a “Elizabeth” pop art influenced canvas of the infamous Hollywood icon for my store. If you like it, go check it out by clicking on the photos!

A Furious Love - Book Cover

Wearing the diamond Richard gave her

Eliabeth Taylor Canvas - Hanging